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A few minutes ago I got home from a visit to the vet. Syrus needed a wellness checkup after being adopted and the vet that my wife and I choose was booked solid until now. The checkup went well and Syrus is in good health. He weighed in at 37 pounds and is thought to be 8 months old. The vet says all of his adult teeth are in and there are no signs of tarter (which is why he is guessing 8 months).
That was the only good thing to come out of the visit. We got out of the car and made our way into the building. There was a man sitting just inside the front door with an older Black Lab. The dog was very docile and calmly sat next to his owner.
When Syrus saw this Lab he went ballistic. His body tensed up and he immediately began barking and howling. His tail started wagging violently and he did all that he could to pull me to the other dog. Not knowing what to do, I picked Syrus up and carried him across the waiting room to a seat furthest away from everyone else in the room.
I placed Syrus on the floor between my legs and tried to calm him down by petting him. This did not seem to help at all and Syrus continued to bark and growl. He was making a noise that sounded more like screaming, it was a high pitched bark and howling combination that just sounded bad.
The docile Black Lab was becoming visibly uncomfortable and I felt awful. I tried giving Syrus a food stuffed kong and petting him but he was not interested in anything but the other dog. After what felt like a half-hour (which was probably closer to 5 mins) he did nothing but bark, growl, and try to pull his way to the other dog.
When it was time for the Lab to see the vet, Syrus calmed down and seemed playful in trying to get the secretary's attention. Another dog came into the waiting room and Srus was back to barking and growling again. This dog was also older but appeared to be a boxer mix. He wasn't nearly as excited when this dog entered the room.
Getting Syrus to calm down with this dog in the room was a little easier as he was responding to my sit command and turning his head when I said his name. That dog went into the back to see the doctor and things got even worse when the next dog entered the waiting room.
A man came in with a very sweet looking Yellow Lab and Syrus went into a frenzy. This time teeth were shown and nothing I did could distract him from the other dog. The growling, barking, and howling reached its peak.
Trying to get Syrus' attention away from the dog, I placed my hand below his ear and gently tried to draw his head toward me to break his line of sight. When I did this Syrus snapped at me, I think. His mouth was wide open from barking and it quickly moved towards my hand. He could have bitten me with no problems, but he didn't.
In a last ditch effort to put an end to the ordeal, I picked Syrus up and walked into a corner with him in my arms. With his line of sight broken, he calmed down and everything was alright. A minute later we were called back to see the vet and I carried Syrus to keep him calm.
When we got back to see the vet Syrus was like a totally different dog. He seemed to love the vet and wanted to play. Doing the exam was a little difficult due to his playfulness, but it went very well.
I explained to him that all of the rukus in the waiting room was Syrus and asked him what he though the issue may be. I explained to him that Syrus was enrolled in a group obedience class and I was very concerned with a repeat performance when class starts in two weeks.
He went on to tell me that since Syrus is primarily Pitt Bull, he may be "hard wired" to be dog aggressive and there may not be a whole lot I can do about it. He says that Syrus is very friendly and a sweet dog, but a group setting with other dogs may be out of the question.
I emailed the class instructor just a few minutes ago telling them the same story and asking their opinion. At this point I'm completely lost on how to go about making the situation better. Walking Syrus has been difficult because he fixates on other dogs but he has never been this close to them.
When we visited the kennel, Syrus seemed fine with the other dogs. The coordinator told us that he was walked with other dogs and that everything was just fine in that regard. Is it possible for a dog to go from being fine with other dogs to acting like described above in less than three weeks?
What would you suggest I do from here?
Thanks for reading this very long thread. I'm sure I could have shortened it up but I wanted to get everything out incase something that I felt may be unimportant might have been the key to Syrus' behavior.
That was the only good thing to come out of the visit. We got out of the car and made our way into the building. There was a man sitting just inside the front door with an older Black Lab. The dog was very docile and calmly sat next to his owner.
When Syrus saw this Lab he went ballistic. His body tensed up and he immediately began barking and howling. His tail started wagging violently and he did all that he could to pull me to the other dog. Not knowing what to do, I picked Syrus up and carried him across the waiting room to a seat furthest away from everyone else in the room.
I placed Syrus on the floor between my legs and tried to calm him down by petting him. This did not seem to help at all and Syrus continued to bark and growl. He was making a noise that sounded more like screaming, it was a high pitched bark and howling combination that just sounded bad.
The docile Black Lab was becoming visibly uncomfortable and I felt awful. I tried giving Syrus a food stuffed kong and petting him but he was not interested in anything but the other dog. After what felt like a half-hour (which was probably closer to 5 mins) he did nothing but bark, growl, and try to pull his way to the other dog.
When it was time for the Lab to see the vet, Syrus calmed down and seemed playful in trying to get the secretary's attention. Another dog came into the waiting room and Srus was back to barking and growling again. This dog was also older but appeared to be a boxer mix. He wasn't nearly as excited when this dog entered the room.
Getting Syrus to calm down with this dog in the room was a little easier as he was responding to my sit command and turning his head when I said his name. That dog went into the back to see the doctor and things got even worse when the next dog entered the waiting room.
A man came in with a very sweet looking Yellow Lab and Syrus went into a frenzy. This time teeth were shown and nothing I did could distract him from the other dog. The growling, barking, and howling reached its peak.
Trying to get Syrus' attention away from the dog, I placed my hand below his ear and gently tried to draw his head toward me to break his line of sight. When I did this Syrus snapped at me, I think. His mouth was wide open from barking and it quickly moved towards my hand. He could have bitten me with no problems, but he didn't.
In a last ditch effort to put an end to the ordeal, I picked Syrus up and walked into a corner with him in my arms. With his line of sight broken, he calmed down and everything was alright. A minute later we were called back to see the vet and I carried Syrus to keep him calm.
When we got back to see the vet Syrus was like a totally different dog. He seemed to love the vet and wanted to play. Doing the exam was a little difficult due to his playfulness, but it went very well.
I explained to him that all of the rukus in the waiting room was Syrus and asked him what he though the issue may be. I explained to him that Syrus was enrolled in a group obedience class and I was very concerned with a repeat performance when class starts in two weeks.
He went on to tell me that since Syrus is primarily Pitt Bull, he may be "hard wired" to be dog aggressive and there may not be a whole lot I can do about it. He says that Syrus is very friendly and a sweet dog, but a group setting with other dogs may be out of the question.
I emailed the class instructor just a few minutes ago telling them the same story and asking their opinion. At this point I'm completely lost on how to go about making the situation better. Walking Syrus has been difficult because he fixates on other dogs but he has never been this close to them.
When we visited the kennel, Syrus seemed fine with the other dogs. The coordinator told us that he was walked with other dogs and that everything was just fine in that regard. Is it possible for a dog to go from being fine with other dogs to acting like described above in less than three weeks?
What would you suggest I do from here?
Thanks for reading this very long thread. I'm sure I could have shortened it up but I wanted to get everything out incase something that I felt may be unimportant might have been the key to Syrus' behavior.
....
